Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Visually impaired children'

The purpose of this study is to investigate the current Lebanese social policy and practices concerning disabled children in general and visually impaired children in particular on the social construction of disabling identities. This is relevant to current national and global disability rights movements, which infrequently take children and their specific issues into consideration. It is particularly pertinent to Lebanon which passed its first rights-based disability law in 2000 and continues to struggle with its implementation. This study was conducted through an organisational ethnography of a residential institution for children with severe visual impairments and was supplemented by interviews with the children, some members of their families, teachers, staff and alumni from the institution, as well as participant observation sessions at integrative settings, and interviews with parents and activists pursuing inclusion. The analysis focused on investigating the inclusionary versus exclusionary nature of policy and practice; the availability of mechanisms allowing for children's participation in these contexts; and the impact of these practices on the self-identities of disabled children. Theoretically, the analysis built on current literature in disability studies and the sociology of childhood, as well as drawing on Foucauldian ideas of power, control and surveillance and applying Goffman's concepts of stigma and the concept of a total institution. The findings show that rights based legislation cannot on its own result in inclusive changes of policy and practice. In the absence of implementation mechanisms, practices remain predominantly exclusionary, with no effective mechanisms for the meaningful participation of parents or children, eventually socialising the children into disabled identities. Children 8 - 12 years of age were not exhibiting any noticeable resistance to the systems of control, and had adopted the discriminatory values relating to disability exhibited around them.

The purpose of the present study was to test the use of visually displayed EMG biofeedback as a means for training hearing impaired adolescents to reduce anterior temporalis or frontalis muscle tension . Five male and four female hearing impaired students between the ages of 13 and 15 were chosen from the California School for the Deaf, Fremont, CA to serve as participants. Each participant was randomly assigned to either an experimental or control condition. Participants in the experimental groups were given five 15 minute EMG biofeedback training sessions. An additional group of 4 adolescents with normal hearing from Marshall Junior High School, Stockton, CA served as a hearing control group. The dependent measure was a 5 minute pretest and post-test measurement of muscle tension (in microvolts). Split-plot analyses were performed to determine if there were significant differences between a ) the .hearing impaired experimental and the hearing impaired control groups, b) the hearing impaired control and the hearing control groups, and c) the hearing impaired experimental group and the hearing control group. Results of the analyses showed that at post-test both the hearing impaired experimental group and the hearing control group showed a significant decrease in muscle tension F(1,7)=5.85 p< .05. The interaction was nonsignificant. Comparison of the two control groups showed that at post-test the two groups were not significantly different in levels of muscle tension. The comparison between the hearing impaired experimental and the hearing control groups resulted in a significant interaction (Group X Time of Testing) F( 1,6)=9.47, p=.02, and the main effect for time of testing approached significance.

This study investigated the relationship among maternal reactions to visual impairment, home environment, and the self-esteem of eight visually impaired children. Educational research has clearly isolated a correlation between self-esteem, academic performance, and behavior. The premise of this study was that visually impaired children who perceived their home environments as supportive and nurturing; and who had parents, particularly mothers who accepted their loss of vision, would feel better about themselves more so than visually impaired children who held predominantly negative perceptions. The study also compared children's, mothers' and teachers' perceptions of the child's self-esteem. The subjects were 8 visually impaired children between the ages of 5 and 8, their mothers, and their integrating teachers. A questionnaire pertaining to children's self-esteem was circulated to teachers and mothers. Children were interviewed separately. Results indicated that the climate of the home was associated with both the use of functional vision and self-esteem in visually impaired children. The findings are congruent with educational and humanistic-phenomenological theory, and support the hypothesis that children's behavior and perceptions of themselves are influenced by the reflections of 'significant others', particularly their parents.
Education, Faculty of
Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of
Graduate

This research focuses on the perceptions of future fulfilment of visually impaired adolescent learners at the Khanyisa Special School. The qualitative research was undertaken at the selected special school, which is situated in Nelson Mandela Bay in the western region of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, with ten learners, ten parents and five teachers as participants. The concluding chapter suggests ways and recommendations to assist the visually impaired adolescent learners at the Khanyisa Special School financially and academically.

Inclusive education has increased in popularity over the last two decades. Inclusiveclassrooms consist of children from diverse backgrounds and with variousimpairments, with special educational needs. Children with special educationalneeds in vision require assistive tools to access visual information. Topics thatmake strong use of such information, e.g. geometry, can therefore be challengingfor children with visual impairments or blindness (VIB) as well as their teachers.Assistive tools like video magniers and physical objects in the shape ofgeometric gures are used to aid VIB in learning basic geometry. Researchershave investigated tools and applications to aid VIB in learning geometry byusing haptic or auditory feedback as well as combinations of these. However,the tools are often not created with considering the classroom environment. Tounderstand the situation and challenges of these two stakeholders (VIBs andtheir teachers) better, a preliminary questionnaire was conducted. Five participantsof each of the two groups lled out the questionnaires. A concept for anAndroid tablet application to convey pre-existing geometric shapes and theirannotations to VIB, using sound feedback and sonication was created andpartly developed in two incremental implementation phases. The shapes arerecreated on the tablet using elements like circles and paths and then enhancedwith sound feedback to guide VIB to the various elements. With an iterativedesign, the two prototype increments were evaluated. The rst evaluation wasan usability study. Using seven blindfolded, young adult participants, feedbackwas gathered on dierent combinations between sound, tactile, and vibrationfeedback, as well as the general usability of the application for an validation ofthe approach. Each participants was presented the dierent approaches in anotherorder. For each approach, they were asked to explore three basic geometricshapes and then, without blindfold, draw these shapes. The time for applicationinteraction was measured and overall observation notes were taken. After eachapproach a short questionnaire was given to the participant. Another longerquestionnaire was conducted after all approaches were tested. It was foundthat sound feedback alone is not sucient in precisely conveying the geometricshapes to the users. However, combined with tactile objects to mark positionsof vertices on the screen the result improved signicantly and this approach wasfavored by the participants. The usability of the application is good but hasroom for improvement. A study was conducted with two teachers as expertslater on with the second prototype version. Two teachers with several yearsof experience teaching geometry to VIB in inclusive settings were interviewedconcerning the expected usability of the application for VIB and in the classroom,as well as general challenges and possibilities of including the applicationinto geometry lectures. As the teachers were located in Germany, they weresent a video demonstrating the application. One interview was conducted overemail while the other was conducted over Skype. The only challenges identiedare the media anity of teachers and the reliability of technology. VIB are notexpected to face challenges in utilizing the application and teachers could havemore freedom in the geometric shapes they present to their class.

Eye conditions associated with visual impairment and blindness in children, such as congenital cataract, can lead to long lasting visual problems if treatment is delayed. There is need to determine which method can be more effective in identifying blind and visual impaired children. In this study, two methods of identifying blind and visual impaired children (using key informants versus using health surveillance assistants) were compared in a randomised community study conducted in three districts in Southern Malawi. The ministry of Health was advocating for the training of Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) in primary eye care, which included case detection and refer of blind and visually impaired children; and the alternative was the training of key informants (KIs). The study was done to compare the effectiveness of the two methods of case identification and to provide guidelines on optimal approaches of identifying blind and severely visually impaired children in Malawi. Twelve clusters (group of villages) were selected, and six were randomly assigned to each group. After training in case identification and referral, Key informants and Heath surveillance assistant identified children from the clusters, within a six-week period, and the number of blind and visual impaired children identified in each group was determined and compared. In total, 159 Key informants and 151 Health Surveillance Assistants were selected and trained, and they identified 550 children with eye problems, among whom, after examination, only 15.1 % were blind or severely visually impaired. Key informants identified one and half times more blind/severally visual impaired children than HSAs (37 vs 22).The prevalence estimates of blindness among children identified by KIs was 3.3 per 10,000 (95% CI 2.7-3.9), while the prevalence estimates of blindness among children identified by HSAs was 1.9 per 10,000 (95% CI 1.3-2.5).The difference was statistically significant (P=0.03), but overall the number of children identified by both groups was lower than was the expected from prevalence estimates of 8.0 per 10,000. False positives between HSAs and KIs were comparable, with 68.8% of children identified by HSAs as blind, confirmed blind on examination, in comparison to 72.5% of children identified by KIs, also confirmed as blind on examination. Cortical blindness seconded by cataract were the commonest causes of blindness. In conclusion, Keys informants were more effective than Health Surveillance assistants in identifying blind and visually impaired children in Malawi, and this study supports and confirms findings from other areas.

Includes abstract.
Includes bibliographical references.
The City of Cape Town Sport, Recreation and Amenities Department (COCT SRA) has drafted its own policy document on sport and recreation in order to align with national policy to guide efficient recreational service delivery. The COCT SRA should play a role in the development of all children within the communities it serves. The implementers of the recreational services thus play a vital role in ensuring efficient service delivery to all. The aim of the study was to explore the perceptions of recreation officers regarding their contribution to enabling the inclusion of visually impaired children in the Come and Play Programme. Furthermore to illuminate potential barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of visually impaired children in order to facilitate policy implementation.

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that have influenced successful participation in physical activity of school-aged children and youth who are blind or visually impaired. Data for this study were gathered through analysis of the personal narratives of four blind, physically active young adults (one active adult and three competitive athletes) as they reflected on key childhood and youth experiences that positively influenced their participation in physical activity. Using a socio-ecological framework, the study sought to map out, in detail, the individual and interconnected factors (e.g. family, teacher, peer attitudes) that influenced success within and across three different environments (family, school and community). The results found common themes across participant narratives indicating identifiable success factors related to the family and school environments. While individual themes emerged related to the community environment, they did not recur across the participant narratives. Interconnections among the three environments were similarly evident in individual participant narratives, but no recurring themes were found for this across participant narratives. Taken as a whole, the results present a holist perspective of the complex web of factors that have helped craft successful experiences and foster continued participation in physical activity for the individuals in this study.

Dissertation (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to develop a HIV intervention programme tailored for South African adolescents with visual impairments. A further aim was to pilot and evaluate this tailored programme. This investigation was deemed necessary in the light of the growing HIV pandemic in South Africa, which has proliferated over the last 10 years. Adolescents and young adults are among the most vulnerable to HIV infection, and this does not exclude adolescents with visual impairments. Despite the perceptions among sighted people of asexuality in adolescents with visual impairments, they are a vulnerable group for HIV infection. The motivation for this study is the fact that very little literature is available on HIV/AIDS and people with visual impairments, and that this vulnerable group is marginalized in HIV/AIDS campaigns internationally. As far as we could ascertain, there have been three HIV prevention initiatives for people with visual impairments in South Africa, none of which was fully researched and evaluated, and all of which used existing generic interventions but transcribed into Braille and large print format. The reality is, many adolescents with visual impairments, as is the case with sighted youths, are sexually active, and the absence of research on HIV prevalence and HIV prevention needs in this sector, is conspicuous. An urgent need exists to tailor HIV preventative programmes for this vulnerable sector. The dearth of research on HIV/AIDS and people with visual impairments motivated the choice of a key informant study to investigate the effects that HIV/AIDS and other concomitant issues have on persons with visual impairments, prior to the design of any intervention. A purposive sample of key informants who are working among people with visual impairments on a daily basis, most of whom had visual impairments themselves, was selected. Information gathered from the key informant study was combined with the lessons from a review of available literature on health promotion programmes and HIV prevention programmes in particular to develop an HIV/AIDS intervention programme to be piloted and evaluated for its effectiveness. The design of the programme took account, in addition, of broader contextual issues such as power and gender issues, and the marginalization and stigmatization of disabled people. The theoretical framework which forms the basis of the programme was informed by elements of a number of cognitive theories in the health promotion field, and especially the Informational-Motivational-Behavioural model (IMF). The programme was designed to empower participants and to create an environment of reallife experiences in which they could acquire important negotiation skills, decision-making skills, and practical skills to use condoms and HIV/AIDS knowledge to facilitate attitude and behaviour change. The next objective of this research was to implement the intervention programme of eight sessions designed for adolescents with visual impairments and to investigate the outcome on participants in this study. For this purpose an experimental design, one experimental group and three control groups (n= 56), not randomly assigned, was used to test the effect of the programme on participants in the intervention group compared to the control groups, who received a health promotion programme of four sessions. All participants were learners at the only two schools for learners with visual impairments in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, and they were allocated into treatment or control conditions on the basis of the school grades in which they were already placed. The empirical investigation utilized a questionnaire that was developed and transcribed into Braille as well as large print. Following a small pilot study, the questionnaire was finalized and administered to all four groups (pre-test, to determine baseline differences; post-test, to determine the immediate effect of the programme; and follow-up [3 months later] to determine longer term effectiveness). An analysis was done to assess the internal consistency of the measuring constructs of the questionnaire, and satisfactory internal consistency was found, with Cronbach’s alpha scores ranging between 0.72 and 0.92. Quantitative data were analyzing using multivariate techniques, beginning with a repeated measures MANOVA analysis and, once an overall significant F ratio between variables, time and groups (F=2.009, p<0.05); a significant F ratio between groups and variables (F=4.211, p<0.01), and significant F ratio between time and groups (F=2.611, p<0.01), had been found, we continued with more focused analyses. Baseline results revealed no statistical differences between the four groups. There were statistically significant improvements in knowledge of HIV/AIDS for both the experimental group and two of the control group, but these differences were not maintained at follow up. Significant differences in attitudes towards HIV/AIDS were found for the experimental group and for one of the control groups. Though there were significant changes in both knowledge and attitudes, therefore, it cannot be claimed that the intervention itself was responsible for knowledge and attitudinal change. There was some evidence for diffusion of innovation in terms of HIV knowledge from the experimental group and the control group situated at the same school. Changes in reported HIV risk behaviour were not recorded to a significant degree, a fact which may have been attributable in part to small sample size. Qualitative process information was used to get a sense of the experiences of participants and the concomitant issues they discussed during the intervention. The qualitative data revealed a host of contextual factors relevant to issues of HIV/AIDS and sexuality in this group, including experiences of stigmatization as people with visual impairment, negotiating masculinity in the context of visual impairment, gender oppression of women and resistance to this, and a general atmosphere of myths and silences around HIV/AIDS in particular and sexuality in general. Despite the limited impact of the programme, this pilot study revealed important issues for adolescents with visual impairments regarding HIV prevention which require further investigation. Participants in the experimental group indicated that they learned a lot from this programme and suggested that it be given to younger adolescents to enable them to acquire these vital skills prior to active sexual engagement and the involvement in any form of unprotected sex. A number or recommendations are made for further well-documented and evaluated research in this field.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie was om ’n MIV-intervensieprogram te ontwikkel wat op Suid- Afrikaanse adolessente met gesigsgestremdhede gemik is. ’n Verdere doel was om ’n proeflopie van die pasgemaakte program te doen en dit te evalueer. Hierdie ondersoek is nodig geag in die lig van die groeiende MIV-pandemie in Suid-Afrika, wat oor die afgelope tien jaar vinnig versprei het. Adolessente en jong volwassenes tel onder die kwesbaarstes vir MIV-infeksie, en dit sluit nie adolessente met gesigsgestremdhede uit nie. Ongeag die persepsies omtrent aseksualiteit in adolessente met gesigsgestremdhede onder diegene wat nie gesigsgestremd is nie, is eersgenoemde ’n kwesbare groep vir MIV-infeksie. Die motivering vir hierdie studie is die feit dat baie min literatuur vir mense met gesigsgestremdhede beskikbaar is, en dat hierdie kwesbare groep wêreldwyd in MIV/VIGSveldtogte gemarginaliseerd is. Sover ons kon vasstel, was daar drie MIV-voorkomingsinisiatiewe vir mense met gesigsgestremdhede in Suid-Afrika, waarvan nie een ten volle nagevors en geëvalueer is nie, en wat almal bestaande generiese intervensies gebruik het wat in Braille en grootdruk-formaat omgesit is. Die werklikheid is dat baie adolessente met gesigsgestremdhede – nes die geval is met jeugdiges sonder gesigsgestremdhede – seksueel aktief is en dat die afwesigheid van navorsing oor MIV-voorkoms en MIVvoorkomingsbehoeftes in hierdie sektor opvallend is. Daar is ’n dringende behoefte aan pasgemaakte MIV-voorkomende programme vir hierdie kwesbare sektor. Die gebrek aan navorsing oor MIV/vigs en mense met gesigsgestremdhede het die keuse van ’n sleutelinformantstudie gemotiveer om die invloed wat MIV/vigs en ander gepaardgaande kwessies op mense met gesigsgestremdhede het, voor die ontwikkeling van enige intervensie te ondersoek. ’n Doelgerigte steekproef van sleutelinformante wat op ’n daaglikse grondslag onder mense met gesigsgestremdhede werk, waarvan die meeste self gesigsgestremd is, is gekies. Inligting wat van die sleutelinformantstudie verkry is, is gekombineer met die lesse uit ’n oorsig van die bestaande literatuur oor gesondheidsbevorderingsprogramme – in die besonder MIV-voorkomingsprogramme – om ’n MIV/vigs-intervensieprogram te ontwikkel wat as loodsprojek kon dien en wat vir doeltreffendheid geëvalueer kon word. Die ontwerp van die projek het, daarbenewens, ag geslaan op breër kontekstuele kwessies soos mags- en genderkwessies en die marginalisering en stigmatisering van mense met getremdhede. Die teoretiese raamwerk wat die grondslag vir die program vorm, is op elemente van ’n aantal kognitiewe teorieë op die gebied van gesondheidsbevordering, en spesifiek die inligtingmotivering- gedragsmodel geskoei. Die program is ontwerp om deelnemers te bemagtig en om ’n omgewing van lewenservaringe te skep waarbinne hulle belangrike onderhandelings-, besluitnemings- en praktiese vaardighede kon ontwikkel om kondoomgebruik te bevorder, asook kennis omtrent MIV/vigs om houdings- en gedragsverandering te fasiliteer. Die volgende doelwit van hierdie navorsing was om die intervensieprogram van agt sessies wat vir adolessente met gesigsgestremdhede ontwerp is, te implementeer en om die resultate ten opsigte van die deelnemers aan die studie te ondersoek. Met hierdie doel voor oë is ’n eksperimentele ontwerp – een eksperimentele groep en drie kontrolegroepe (n=56), wat nie ewekansig toegewys is nie – gebruik om die invloed van die program op deelnemers in die intervensiegroep te toets teenoor dié op die kontrolegroepe, wat aan ’n gesondheidsbevorderings-program van vier sessies deelgeneem het. Alle deelnemers was leerders by die enigste twee skole vir leerders met gesigsgestremdhede in die Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika. Hulle is op grond van die skoolgraad waarin hulle reeds geplaas is, aan behandelings- of kontroletoestande toegewys. Die empiriese ondersoek het ’n ontwikkelde vraelys gebruik wat sowel in Braille getranskribeer is as in grootdruk gedruk is. Ná afloop van ’n klein loodsstudie is die vraelys gefinaliseer en aan al vier groepe toegedien (voortoets, om die basisverskille vas te stel; na-toets, om die onmiddellike invloed van die program vas te stel; en opvolg [3 maande later] om doeltreffendheid op langer termyn vas te stel). ’n Ontleding is gedoen om die interne konsekwentheid van die meetkonstrukte van die vraelys te assesseer: voldoende interne konsekwentheid is gevind, met Cronbach se alfapunte wat tussen 0.72 en 0.92 gewissel het. Kwantitatiewe data is met behulp van meervariaattegnieke ontleed. Eers is ’n herhaaldemeting- MANOVA-ontleding gedoen en daarna – nadat ’n algeheel beduidende F verhouding tussen veranderlikes, tyd en groepe (F=2.009, p<0.05); ’n beduidende Fverhouding tussen groepe en veranderlikes (F=4.211, p<0.01) en ’n beduidende F-verhouding tussen tyd en groepe (F=2.611, p<0.01) gevind is – is dit deur meer gefokusde ontledings gevolg. Basislynuitslae het geen statistiese verskille tussen die vier groepe getoon nie. Daar was statisties beduidende verbeteringe in kennis oor MIV/vigs in sowel die eksperimentele groep as die twee kontrolegroepe, maar hierdie verskille is nie met die opvolgtoets volgehou nie. Beduidende verskille in houding jeens MIV/vigs is by die eksperimentele groep en een van die kontrolegroepe gevind. Hoewel daar beduidende veranderinge in sowel kennis as houdings gevind is, kan daar nie beweer word dat die intervensie self vir die kennis- en houdingsveranderinge verantwoordelik was nie. Daar was ’n mate van bewys vir diffusie van innovering wat betref kennis oor MIV van die eksperimentele groep en die kontrolegroep by dieselfde skool. Veranderinge in aangemelde MIV-risikogedrag is nie in ’n beduidende mate aangeteken nie, ’n feit wat gedeeltelik aan die beperkte grootte van die steekproef te wyte kan wees. Inligting uit ’n kwalitatiewe proses is gebruik om ’n indruk te skep van die ervaringe van deelnemers en gepaardgaande kwessies wat hulle tydens die intervensie bespreek het. Die kwalitatiewe data het ’n reeks kontekstuele faktore blootgelê wat vir kwessies van MIV/vigs en seksualiteit in hierdie groep tersaaklik is, met inbegrip van ervaringe van stigmatisering as mense met gesigsgestremdhede, die hantering van manlikheid binne die konteks van gesigsgestremdheid, genderonderdrukking van vroue en weerstand hierteen, asook ’n algemene atmosfeer van mites en stilswye oor MIV/vigs in die besonder en seksualiteit in die algemeen. Ten spyte van die beperkte impak van die program het hierdie loodsstudie belangrike kwessies vir adolessente met gesigsgestremdhede betreffende MIV-voorkoming blootgelê wat verdere ondersoek noodsaak. Deelnemers in die eksperimentele groep het aangedui dat hulle baie uit hierdie program geleer het en het voorgestel dat dit aan jonger adolessente aangebied word om hulle in staat te stel om hierdie noodsaaklike vaardighede te ontwikkel voordat aktiewe seksuele betrokkenheid en betrokkenheid by enige vorm van onbeskermde seks plaasvind. ’n Aantal aanbevelings vir verdere goed gedokumenteerde en geëvalueerde navorsing op hierdie gebied word gemaak.

This thesis investigates design methods and phase models towards a reinterpretation of the design process towards a specific design task. The study reveals the essence of the process as a design process core, onto which may be built design process models to suit design tasks of diverse nature and scale.

Aklųjų ir silpnaregių vaikų integruotas ugdymas yra, pirmiausia, barjerų tarp sveikų ir neįgalių vaikų laužymas, vienodų ugdimosi ir karjeros siekimo galimybių sudarymas. Iškelta hipotezė, kad Lietuvos Respublikoje yra pakankamai priimtų įstatymų bei poįstatyminių aktų kurie reglamentuoja sutrikusio regėjimo vaikų inkliuzyvųjį ugdymą ir sudaro teorines prielaidas sutrikusio regėjimo vaikų inkliuziviam ugdymui LR bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose, tačiau praktiškai daugelis mokyklų dar yra prekliuzijos etape: segreguotų institucijų gyvavimo tradicijos, organizacinės, resursų paramos inkliuziviam ugdymui stoka pačių bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų viduje (kompetencijų, nuostatų, materialinės paramos prasme), per didelis mokinių klasėje skaičius, dauguma mokytojų, dirbančių bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose, nėra pasiruošę ugdyti sutrikusio regėjimo vaikų ir nenori turėti jų savo klasėse, neturi vaizdinių priemonių bei didesnio šrifto vadovėlių ir t.t. Remiantis 1991 metais ŠPI žinybinės specialiosios pedagogikos mokslinio tyrimo laboratorijos mokslinių bendradarbių parengta anketa buvo pateikta silpnaregiams vaikams, jų tėvams, pedagogams klausimai, susiję su požiūriu į integruotą ugdymą bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose. Respondentų atsakymai buvo sugrupuoti į atskirus reikšminius blokus: mokymosi sunkumai ir darbingumas per pamokas, vaikų bendravimo sunkumai, požiūris į silpnaregių vaikų mokymą ir auklėjimą. Duomenų apdorojimui, analizei bei darbe pateiktų lentelių sudarymui naudotos SPSS-PC 11... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]
Integrated education of blind and visually impaired children at first is breaking the barriers between healthy and disabled children, creation of equal possibilities of education and career aspiration. The hypothesis has been raised that in the Republic of Lithuania there are sufficient number of laws and legal acts (by-laws) that regulate inclusive education of visually impaired children and create theoretical presumptions for inclusive education of visually impaired children in mainstream schools of the Republic of Lithuania, however, in practice many schools are still in the stage of preclusion: traditions of existence of segregated institutions, lack of organizational and resource support for inclusive education in mainstream schools (from the viewpoint of competences, attitudes, material support), too big number of pupils in classes, the majority of teachers who work in mainstream schools are not prepared to educate visually impaired children and do not want to have them in their classes, they do not have visual aids and textbooks with enlarged font, etc. Referring to a questionnaire prepared in 1991 by the fellowship of departmental scientific research laboratory of special education of Šiauliai Pedagogical Institute the questions related to the attitude towards integrated education in mainstream schools have been presented to children with visual impairment, their parents and pedagogues. The responses of the respondents have been grouped to separate notional blocks... [to full text]

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
This dissertation entitled: The Social and Educational Inclusion of Children and Young People with Visual Impairment and participation of the NGO Institute of the Blind of Paraiba, this is a survey developed in the Graduate Programs in Social Work at the Federal University of Paraíba and by objectives the analysis of social-inclusive implemented by the NGO Institute of the Blind of Paraiba, aimed at children and youth with visual impairments, from the perception of these subjects in terms of social inclusion process to which they are submitted according to the parameters of the National Education Policy inclusive. The study was premised on the analysis of public policies of assistance to young people with visual disabilities specifically developed by the government with the participation of the NGO Institute of the Blind (ICP) in completing the process of social inclusion. The references presented a discussion on the role of social organizations linked to the Third Sector, focusing on the spoken-NGO-Citizens in the perspective of solidarity, as a key agent for completion and support of public policies in view of the great challenge that is put subjects such policies as real protagonists. The social-educational activities undertaken by the NGO / ICP, the object of our investigation, we are all linked to the process of social inclusion of its users, such as education, sport, culture, facilitation of access, the poor entry to the market of work to end discrimination and the exercise of citizenship. It must be remembered that all these actions are conditions to prevent social exclusion, while effecting inclusive actions. In this sense our research contributes to the broadening of debate about the problems faced by disabled people considering the responses materialized through public policies and operated both by the public as by private non-profit organization, attention to their needs and achieving its rights.
A presente dissertação intitulada: A Inclusão Sócio-Educacional de Crianças e Jovens com Deficiência Visual e a Participação da ONG Instituto dos Cegos da Paraíba, trata-se de uma pesquisa desenvolvida no Programas de Pós Graduação em Serviço Social da Universidade Federal da Paraíba tendo por objetivos a analise das ações sócio-inclusivas implementadas pela ONG Instituto dos Cegos da Paraíba, voltadas para crianças e Jovens com deficiência visual, a partir das percepções desses sujeitos em relação ao processo de inclusão social ao qual estão submetidos segundo os parâmetros da Política Nacional de Educação Inclusiva. O estudo teve como premissa a análise das políticas públicas de atendimento aos jovens portadores de deficiência visual especificamente, desenvolvida pelo poder público com a participação da ONG Instituto dos Cegos (ICP) na complementação do processo de inclusão social. A bibliografia levantada apresentou a discussão em torno do papel social das organizações ligadas ao Terceiro Setor, enfocando as -ONGs ditas Cidadãs- na perspectiva da solidariedade, como agente fundamental para complementação e apoio às políticas públicas, tendo em vista o grande desafio que é colocar os sujeitos dessas políticas, como verdadeiros protagonistas. As ações sócio-educativas desenvolvidas pela ONG/ICP, objeto da nossa investigação, estão todas vinculadas ao processo de inclusão social dos seus usuários, a exemplo da educação, do esporte, da cultura, da facilitação do acesso, da entrada do deficiente ao mercado de trabalho, ao combate da discriminação e pelo exercício da cidadania. Convém frisar que todas essas ações são condicionantes para evitar a exclusão social e ao mesmo tempo efetivar ações inclusivas. Nesse sentido a nossa investigação vem contribuir para a ampliação do debate a respeito dos problemas enfrentados pelos deficientes considerando as respostas materializadas por meio de políticas publicas e operacionalizadas tanto pelo poder publico como pela iniciativa privada não lucrativa, na atenção as suas necessidades e concretização dos seus direitos.

The effects of intensive multisensory speech training, with and without the use of Visual Phonics techniques, on the speech production of a profoundly hearing-impaired child were studied over a period of 6 weeks. A nine-year-old profoundly hearing-impaired child received 30-40 minutes of intensive speech training daily. Three target phonemes were trained using only multisensory speech training techniques and three target phonemes were trained using multisensory and Visual Phonics training techniques. The subject's productions of target phonemes in trained words and syllables were audio-taped at the end of each training period. Audio-taped productions were rated as correct or incorrect. The number of correct productions in words and syllables were tallied daily. Results show a general trend of improved production for all phonemes trained. There was no differential effect for the training technique used. It was concluded that intensive training, regardless of the technique used, has a positive effect on the speech productions of a profoundly hearing-impaired child.

This study investigated the effectiveness of utilizing acoustic measures as an objective tool in monitoring speech errors and providing visual feedback to enhance speech training and aural rehabilitation of children with hearing impairment. The first part of the study included a comprehensive description of the acoustic characteristics related to the speech deficits of a hearing impaired child. Results of a series of t-tests performed on the experimental measures showed that vowel length and the loci of formant frequencies were most relevant in differentiating between correctly and incorrectly produced vowels, while voice onset time along with measures of Moment 1 (mean) and Moment 3 (skewness) obtained from speech moment analysis, were related to consonant accuracy. These findings, especially the finding of an abnormal sound frequency distribution shown in the hearing impaired child's consonant production, suggest a link between perceptual deficits and speech production errors and provide clues to the type of compensatory feedback needed for aural rehabilitation. The second part of the study involved a multiple baseline design across behaviours with replication across three hearing impaired children to assess the efficacy of treatment with acoustic signals as visual feedback. Participants' speech articulations following traditional speech training and training using spectrographic and RMS displays as visual feedback (referred to as 'visual treatment') were compared, with traditional non-visual treatment followed by visual treatment on one or two targets in a time-staggered fashion. Although no statistically significant difference on the experimental measures was found between the two training approaches based on perceptual assessment, some objective acoustic measures revealed more subtle changes toward normal speech patterns with visual treatment as compared to a traditional approach. Further acoustic-perceptual studies with a larger sample size and longer experimental period are needed to better understand the general and long-term effectiveness of visual treatment.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 1996.
Adviser: Maryanne Wolf. Submitted to the Dept. of Child Development. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-257). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
Visual impairment classification varies from low visual loss to total absence of vision. There are many alterations in the routine of children and teenagers who suffer with visual impairment, changing their independency, the way they do everyday activities and the relationship with other people, changing their family lives too. Based on this, we found the necessity and motivation to do this research, which aims to study the experiences of visual impaired children and teenagers. This is a qualitative and descriptive research conducted in two cities, with the Symbolic Interactionism as theoretical reference. In the city A, the identification of the families was done using the data supplied by the Secretaria Estadual de Educação do Estado de São Paulo (the official government institution for education in the state of Sao Paulo). In the city B, we obtained the data from an institution for people with visual impairment; eighteen families were interviewed, and the total number of participants was 61. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, genogram and ecomap. They were recorded and conducted in their homes or in the institution; the research was approved by the University research ethics committee number: 1.034.350. The narrative analysis was used as the methodological reference to make the interpretation of the interviews and understand the trajectory of the families. For a better comprehension, the results were divided in themes, categories and subcategories and organized in three articles for the data analysis. The trajectory starts with the perception of the first signs of visual impairment and the surprise with the diagnosis. After, the families have to adapt their routines in order to facilitate patient’s life. Among the adaptations, there is the use of treatment resources, the necessity to adapt and accept the condition, to protect and to understand the limits to overprotection. The school environment was described as difficult and traumatic in the city A. The social support received by the family may not be characterized as social network, but as a social support. For the families who live in the city B, the support from a specialized organization was essential to deal with visual impairment. We may conclude that it is necessary the qualification of education and health professionals to modify the reality of these families. This research may support improvements in current public health policies and create new ones for the inclusion of visual impaired patients
A classificação da deficiência visual (DV) abrange desde a perda visual leve até a ausência total de visão. Inúmeras modificações ocorrem no cotidiano de crianças e adolescentes com DV, alterando a independência, a maneira como realizam as atividades de vida diária e até as interações estabelecidas com o outro. Essa realidade acarreta modificações na vida familiar. Assim, surgiu a necessidade e motivação para realizar essa pesquisa que objetivou apreender a experiência de famílias de crianças e adolescentes com deficiência visual. Pesquisa qualitativa e descritiva, realizada em dois municípios, que utilizou como referencial teórico o Interacionismo Simbólico. No município A, a identificação das famílias foi realizada a partir do cadastro das matrículas de crianças e adolescentes com DV fornecido pela Secretaria Estadual de Educação do Estado de São Paulo. Já no município B contatamos uma instituição que fornece apoio para as pessoas com DV. Entrevistouse 18 famílias, totalizando 61 participantes. A coleta de dados ocorreu por meio de entrevista semiestruturada e com a confecção do Genograma e Ecomapa; foram gravadas em áudio e realizadas no domicílio ou na instituição de apoio. A pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa sob o parecer número: 1.034.350. A análise de narrativa foi adotada como referencial metodológico para a interpretação das entrevistas e assim foi compreendida a trajetória vivenciada pelas famílias. Para a compreensão os resultados foram divididos em temas, categorias e subcategorias. Os resultados foram estruturados em três artigos científicos que representam a análise dos dados. A trajetória é iniciada com a percepção dos primeiro sinais da DV, e com a surpresa da revelação do diagnóstico. Essa notícia faz com que a família busque adaptações nas atividades diárias para que o cotidiano do membro com deficiência visual seja facilitado. Dentre as adaptações realizadas pela família esteve relacionada aos recursos de tratamento, a necessidade de aceitar a condição e respeitar as peculiaridades da pessoa com DV e a necessidade da família em supervisionar e buscar conhecer o limiar entre a proteção e superproteção. A relação e experiência no ambiente escolar também foram destacadas no município A como difíceis e traumáticas. O apoio social que a família acessa para sustentação frente a DV ainda não pode ser caracterizado como rede social, mas sim como apoio social advindo de algumas pessoas. Para as famílias residentes no município B o apoio exercido por uma instituição especializada foi essencial para enfrentarem e se instrumentalizarem frente a DV de seus membros. Assim, o estudo sinaliza que modificações nas práticas dos profissionais da saúde e da educação são necessárias para aprimorar a realidade dessas famílias. A pesquisa pode subsidiar a melhoria de políticas públicas já existentes e criar novas voltada para a melhoria da rede de apoio e da inclusão social das pessoas com DV.

This thesis explored standardized assessment practices and analyzed accommodations commonly provided to address the unique needs of students with a sensory impairment. Current assessment practices in Indiana result in well below average scores on the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress - Plus (ISTEP+) and the Graduation Qualifying Examination (GQE) for students who have a sensory impairment. Using a mixed-method of qualitative and quantitative processes, the researcher postulated that if assessment processes were equitable for this population of students, their scores should approximate the normal distribution seen in the overall state totals for the total school population; albeit with a slightly lower trajectory. Reasoning being that the overall population of students with a sensory impairment spans from students with high ability to students with multiple disabilities. Through a literature review and meta-analysis on the topic of assessment, surveys and discussions with varied local experts, and interviews with state and national experts in the sensory areas represented, this study sought to establish a framework for accommodating this population of students on standardized assessments. Using descriptive analysis procedures, the various data sets brought forth 25 qualities or practices that the diverse experts agreed should be in place when assessing this population of students. The data reflected a high level of consensus among parents, teachers, state, and national experts regardless of region of state represented. The data also reflected consensus across sensory subgroups (blind, deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing/cochlear implant, and low vision). The research concluded with a modified confirmatory factor analysis of the 25 qualities with the state-dictated permissible accommodations published in the test guidance manual. This analysis revealed less than half of the perceived best practices were in place for the current state-mandated assessment system. Suggestions for improving accommodation options on future assessment procedures and the prospective for further research were offered.
Department of Special Education

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1988.
Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-127).

This study explored the experience of disability as recounted by school aged, visually impaired adolescents. The primary aim was to explore the manner in which these adolescents thought about, understood and coped with their disability. A second aim explored the extent to which participants’ experiences mirrored those reported in the literature. The design of the study was qualitative with an orientation toward social constructionism. Nine partially sighted and seven blind adolescents comprised the two cohorts of participants who participated in the study. One of the most notable findings supported the argument that disability is a socially constructed phenomenon. Some insights, drawn from psychoanalysis, were also found to be useful. Other findings, a critique of the study, and suggestions for future research are also provided. One of the most important of these involves evaluating the negative and positive consequences of inclusive education.

碩士
朝陽科技大學
工業設計系碩士班
100
ABSTRACT This research investigated the difficulties of vision impaired children in their learning process. Vision impaired children like to learn rhythm course, but teachers need to instruct the children personally. In this way, the teacher has to take a lot effort. To assist vision impaired children accumulate more bodily movement experiences, air injection technology is developed to help children along physical body movement. Vision impaired people, however, uses sensory perception as their main learning tool. They use their haptic perception to touch and interpret things through touches. Also, they use their hearing perception to recognize and differentiate surrounding environment. We built a prototype through innovative designs to integrate hardware software and ergonomic considerations. During the test and experiments, the results show the learning efficiency increases. After the observation from children’s response during experiment, it conducted as follow: 1.Vision impaired children is interested in air flow and move their limbs along with the air blowing direction. 2.Through the air flow guidance, vision impaired children evidently became more willing to express and can share their experience with friend.

Tese de mestrado em Informática, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 2021
The use of playful activities is common in introductory programming settings. Visually, these activities tend to be stimulating enough. However, these are not accessible for visually impaired children. This work presents TACTOPI - a system that consists of a tangible environment that provides navigation skills training and enriches sensorial experiences using sound, visual and tactile elements; It allows the learning of introductory concepts of computational thinking embedded in playful activities with storytelling that promote environmental education for children with visual impairments from 4 to 7 years old. The map is modular, customizable and has a docking system to place the elements allowing a fun tactile interaction. Another essential element is the 3D printed helm containing a joystick and buttons for the child to control and pre-program the instructions to be played by the robot. A study was carried out using a qualitative questionnaire to evaluate the system. Suggestions were collected from respondents experienced with blind children about the suitability, relevance and accessibility of this system for these children. From the results, it is possible to conclude that this is a tool that, despite some limitations, is efficient to introduce computational thinking; interactive elements that support activities in other disciplines and contexts; a tool that ensures accessibility and supports task training for the development of blind children.

碩士
淡江大學
資訊與圖書館學系碩士班
103
Through the study of extant literatures, this research aims to understand the speciality of visually impaired children, the connotation of parent-child reading, and the library services for visually impaired persons. Further, the current research aims to explore the status of visually impaired children’s parents for parent-child reading. The study adopts in-depth interviews to interview seven visually impaired children’s parents in the Taipei Public Library Qi Ming Beanch to understand the way of choosing reading material, the way of co-reading activities , the difficulties encountered by the reading process, and the influence on visually impaired children.The suggestions and conclusions are as follow: 1、Hold story-telling activities and reading club for the visually impaired children. 2、Provide the book introduction of Braille book for the visually impaired persons. 3、Library should offer a easy way to visually impaired persons for find books. 4、Library should add touched-book collections 5、public libraries may consider adding video magnifier. 6、provide independent reading room for visually impaired persons. 7、The arrangement of children''s book should consider the needs of visually impaired readers.

碩士
國立雲林科技大學
工業設計系
105
Currently, most issues exploring the design of user experience focused on ordinary consumption markets. For vulnerable groups of physical and mental retardation like seniors or children, researches mainly focused on auxiliary operation aids but frequently neglected special emotional demand. Therefore, this research emphasized the emotional demand of visually impaired children in the perspective of concerning vulnerable groups. Through observation and interview, it aimed to make the long neglected toy demand clearly seen by more people. After investigation, 3 kinds of toys were screened and respectively categorized into cognitive operation, audiovisual sense and construction. Researchers observed playing behaviors and response among 5 visually impaired children. Observatory points included the sensory stimulation caused by toys, together with the smoothness and emotional response under operational process. Aside from operational observation, researchers also conducted in-depth interview with parents and teachers to more clearly understand various demands and responses of visually impaired children when playing toys. Finally, researchers analyzed the information collected by the KJ method. After inductive analysis, researchers categorized the operational process into 3 phases, respectively initial exploration, operational process and emotional feedback. In these 3 phases, researchers further induced 8 emotional design elements, respectively (1) safety sense, (2) attractive force, (3) interest, (4) intuition, (5) simplicity, (6) achievement sense, (7) interaction and feedback and (8) harvest and expectation. Researchers also proposed concrete design principles by focusing on every design element. Based on research results, a check list of toy design meeting the emotional demands of visually impaired children was proposed. With this check list, there were 3 ideas of toy design developed. Hopefully, research results could provide the reference available for scholars and designers of relevant realms planning with toys or relevant products meeting the special demands of visually impaired children.

The Mauritius School for the Blind is primarily funded through government support. Therefore, it is currently a requirement of the School to adhere to the same curricula as used in all primary schools in Mauritius. This research highlights the necessity for a curriculum that can be specifically designed to meet the needs of visually impaired children. The objectives of the study were; to conduct an evaluation to determine the visually impaired children’s educational goals; to establish the key orientation, mobility and independence skills required by children and young people at the School who are visually impaired; to identify ways in which the skills development programme can be implemented within, and beyond, the School’s curriculum; to propose a set of self-help skills training processes that can form part of the current curriculum to enable visually impaired children at the School for the Blind to become more independent. A triangulation research methodology constituting both qualitative and quantitative research was used. The participants consisted of 12 visually impaired children, the Head of the School, three NGO staff members and six teachers. Thematic analysis led to themes and categories emerging in the arena of self-help skills development. Independence and self-help skills were the main themes determined through data analysis. The secondary themes which emerged from the main ones consisted of social skills, travel skills, daily living skills and education. Sub-themes derived from social skills were cultural differences and its associated feeling of discrimination. Sub-themes under travel skills included independent travel and assistance. Finally, education comprised of sub-themes such as a special programme on self-help skills and training for teachers. The above analysis stressed the need to set up a committee in order to start developing a curriculum in the arena of self-help skills.
Psychology
M.A. (Psychology)

碩士
淡江大學
大眾傳播學系
91
Suffering from limitation of vision, how the visually impaired children watch TV cartoon program? How would they be able to grasp the visual messages and create meanings? How the TV viewing behaviors of the visually impaired children differ from those of the sighted children? The aforementioned questions are the main concern of the current study. Based on the cognitive psychology and narrative theory, the current study aims to investigate the cognitive mechanism of the visually impaired children employing the method of experimental designs. Major findings of the current study are summarized as follows: First, both the visually impaired and the sighted children obtain better comprehension toward core events or plots with clear sound cues, without image or audio description. Second, the visually impaired children show better comprehension on not only typical plots matching story schema, but also the specific sound message of typical media techniques. Third, both the visually impaired and sighted children’s comprehension of the TV cartoon are much improved with the implementation of audio description. The relatively poorer performance of the visually impaired subjects toward certain plots is mainly due to the inadequacy on language comprehension and lack of visual experience, which impede their comprehension of the audio description and their ability to infer by organizing and linking some plots. Fourth, the sound effect in TV cartoon is adopted dexterously by the visually impaired children serving as a delicate strategy of memory operation in making plot inferences. Fifth, under the influence of media intertexuality, the visually impaired children are able to establish schema of the visual image, such as story schema, and successfully adopting them as mechanism of plot prediction. According to the research findings, the current study suggests that the future production of audio description of TV cartoon should mainly aim at aiding the visually impaired children to anchor meaning of the sound messages. On the other hand, the content of DVS should focus on providing information of visual message, and meanwhile to create aesthetic atmosphere of the visual code via synesthesia. Moreover, the future study should extend the findings of the present study on the cognition of the visually impaired children, and conduct more detailed research on the viewing behaviors of the visually impaired children, such as their uses and gratifications of the TV media.

碩士
臺北市立大學
舞蹈學系
103
This study applied Laban Movement Analysis as a theoretical foundation to investigate the effectiveness of integrating creative movement into the daily life education for visually impaired children. Based on the action research approach, four visually impaired students, including boys and girls, in the elementary department of a special education school in Taipei City were invited to attend a creative movement course once a week (each session lasting 45 minutes) for ten weeks. Data including teachers’ reflection journals, video records, learning sheets, suggestions from peer researchers and experts, and classroom observations, were collected and analyzed. The main findings were as follows: 1.Creative movement was effective in helping visually impaired children develop fine motor skills of hands, including grip, hold, draw, pull, and pinch, and further acquire the life skills of tying a knot and tying a balanced knot independently. 2.Creative movement could promote development of interpersonal relations, social skills, orientation skills, and physical performance. 3.Integrating creative body movement into daily life education could make the instruction more interesting, resulting in higher learning motivation of visually impaired children. 4.The self-reflection process in action research could help teachers develop better verbal communication abilities and creative thinking, design better instructional activities, and increase their interactions with students.

The study examined the opportunities to learn Mathematics that are accorded to secondary school students with visual impairment in Zimbabwe. The study focused on form one and form two students who are completely without sight, but are learning in inclusive settings, together with their Mathematics teachers. The study examined how teachers interacted with the subject matter, how the teachers interacted with the visually impaired students and how these students interacted with partially sighted students in the teaching and learning process. The study adopted the case study approach under the qualitative inquiry. Data was collected using document analysis, lesson observations, personal interviews with teachers and focus group interviews with students who were purposive sampled. The study established that visually impaired students were not accorded adequate opportunities to learn mathematics at secondary level. The reasons for this deficit are (1) visually impaired students learnt the same curriculum as sighted students when they could not access some topics on the syllabus, (2) the teachers were professionally qualified but they lacked the necessary specialist training for teaching students without sight, (3) teachers used the same teaching methods as those used with sighted students, (4) a lot of time was spent on task though not much ground was covered, (5) the schools were not adequately resourced with appropriate teaching and learning materials for use by visually impaired students, culminating in lost opportunities to learn mathematics. The study recommends that appropriately qualified teachers be deployed to teach at schools for the visually impaired, that all secondary teachers learn the basic modules in Special Needs Education during training. The study also recommends for the government to assist the schools for the visually impaired students to import the much needed teaching and learning equipment. The study has provided some knowledge about the learning of mathematics by visually impaired students in Zimbabwe in the areas of lesson delivery, materials provision, and programme adjustments at secondary teacher training colleges and universities. It has also provided curriculum planners with an insight on the prevailing situation with regard to the teaching and learning of mathematics by visually impaired students. This knowledge could be used when formulating future mathematics curriculum and training policies to do with non-sighted students in Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa.
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The researcher found little information in literature reviewed about how Gestalt Play Therapy is being used in the treatment of visually impaired children. The aim of the study was to expand knowledge regarding this issue. A basic qualitative research study of an exploratory and descriptive nature was undertaken to describe how this therapy may be used in the treatment of such children. A representative sample was drawn from the population, consisting of gestalt play therapists who previously provided assistance to these children, using a purposive non-probability method. Data collection took place through the execution of semi-structured telephone interviews. Collected data was analysed using the Thematic Content Analysis to search for related themes (in line with the objectives of the study) in transcribed interviews. The general conclusion drawn from the empirical data was that gestalt play therapy can be used to good effect in the treatment of visually impaired children.
Die navorser het gevind dat daar weinig inligting in die literatuur beskikbaar is oor hoe gestaltspelterapie in die hulpverlening aan visueel gestremde kinders benut kan word. Die doel van die navorsingstudie was dus om kennis uit te brei rakende die benutting van gestaltspelterapie in die hulpverlening aan visueel gestremde kinders. 'n Basiese kwalitatiewe navorsingstudie met 'n verkennende en beskrywende aard is onderneem om te beskryf hoe gestaltspelterapie benut word met betrekking tot visueel gestremde kinders. 'n Verteenwoordigende steekproef is getrek, volgens 'n doelgerigte nie-waarskynlikheidsmetode, vanuit die populasie bestaande uit gestaltspelterapeute wat al van tevore hulp aan visueel gestremde kinders verleen het. Data-insameling het plaasgevind deur middel van semi-gestruktureerde telefoniese onderhoude. Die versamelde data is volgens die Tematiese Inhoudsanalise ontleed deur verbandhoudende temas (ooreenkomstig die doel van die studie) in getranskribeerde onderhoude te soek. Die algemene gevolgtrekking wat vanuit die empiriese bevindinge gemaak kan word, is dat gestaltspelterapie wel in die hulpverlening aan visueel gestremde kinders benut kan word.
Social Work
M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

Orientação: Emanuel Maria Carlos Borrego Sabino
O presente trabalho tem como principal objetivo demonstrar os limites e possibilidades do uso do computador na educação de alunos com baixa visão, competindo ao mesmo, uma reflexão sobre os apontamentos dos decretos e normas vigentes para o Atendimento Educacional Especializado, conceitos de deficiência visual e suas categorias do ponto de vista pedagógico, também propondo condutas a partir da observação e convivência em campo dos principais aspectos que rodeiam essa parcela do contingente educacional nas escolas de Manaus, no Estado do Amazonas. Além dos recursos didáticos, seu manuseio e melhores formas de aplicação relataram a prática de assistência educativa dos alunos com baixa visão na perspectiva do aluno, educador e instituição de apoio para este tipo de situação de deficiência. O trabalho propôs uma experimentação com 4 alunos e seus respectivos professores visando à utilização e potencialização do computador como ferramenta de auxílio educacional na educação de pessoas com baixa visão. O resultado tem como parâmetros analíticos, os princípios desenvolvidos pelo trabalho oferecido do Ministério da Educação por meio do livro de Atendimento Educacional Especializado da Professora Elizabeth Dias de Sá e a publicação de maior relevância sobre a avaliação funcional da visão e potencial pedagógico redigido pela Professora Marilda Moraes Garcia Bruno (Avaliação educacional de alunos com baixa visão e múltiplas deficiências na Educação Infantil). Neste ponto, fazemos uma verificação dos procedimentos a partir do uso de ferramentas educacionais aliadas aos interesses educativos comuns a qualquer âmbito escolar, programas direcionados para a leitura especificamente e a melhoria da qualidade do ensino sob os atributos tecnológicos referenciais para a educação. Por fim, é feita uma reflexão bibliográfica acerca dos impactos relacionados com as novas tecnologias entrantes na escola, o que queremos ser enquanto educadores na eminência de receber alunos com algum tipo de deficiência, a avaliação do conjunto aluno com baixa visão e os rigores estabelecidos pela tradicional idade remanescente dentro das mais modernas instituições de ensino e o sucesso esperado para que possamos usufruir de uma sociedade mais compreensiva e distante dos pré-conceitos em relação às diferenças e seus reflexos na construção de lugares e comportamento mútuos.
The objective of this study is to show limitations and potentialsoriginated by the useof computers for students of low visual capacities, and also to produce thoughts concerning notes on current norms and decrees for Special Educational Attendance, concepts of visual insufficiency and its categories under a pedagogical point of view and, also, to recommend stances from empirical observations and interaction with the main aspects that directly affect this parcel of students studying at the schools in the city of Manaus, state of Amazonas. Apart from the didactic resources, how to use them and how best to apply them informed the practice of educational assistance of students with low visual capacities in the their own opinions, that of teachers and of the support institution for this type of deficiency. In this study we experimented with 4 students and their teachers aiming at leveraging the use of computers as supporting educational tools in the schooling of people of low visual capacities. The results considers, as analytical parameters, the principles developed in the work offered by the Ministry of Education through the book AtendimentoEducacionalEspecializado (Specialised Educational Attendance) written by Lady Professor Elizabeth Dias de Sá, and a highly relevant work on functional evaluation of vision and of pedagogical potential written by Lady Professor Marilda Moraes Garcia Bruno (Avaliação educacional de alunos com baixavisão e múltiplas deficiências na Educação Infantil). At this moment we verify procedures from the use of educational tools similar to common educative interests to any school ambit, programs focused at reading specifically and to the improvement of teaching quality under referential technological attributes for education. Finally there is a bibliographic presentation on the impacts related to new technologies recently arrivedat schools, what we want to be as educators in the eminence of having to teach students with any type of insufficiency, the evaluation of students with low visual capacities and the rigors established by the reminiscent age within the most modern educational institutions and the awaited success so as that we can take advantage of a more understanding and distant from prejudice society in relation to differences and their reflexes in the constructing of places and conducts mutual to all.